Apple's AI Comeback: Home Robots & Siri Overhaul
Apple, often perceived as having fallen behind in the rapidly advancing field of artificial intelligence, appears to be plotting a significant strategic shift, reportedly focusing on a new generation of home robots and smart devices. According to a recent Bloomberg report, the tech giant is pushing for a comprehensive smart home initiative featuring four AI-powered devices, with targeted launches between 2026 and 2027. This ambitious plan includes a desktop robot, a smart display, and advanced security cameras, signaling a bold re-entry into the consumer AI hardware space.
The proposed desktop robot is envisioned with a motorized arm that can manipulate a display, track users, and interact with speakers, all powered by a comprehensively upgraded Siri. Notably, Apple is said to be developing a personality-driven character for this new Siri, internally codenamed “Bubbles,” drawing comparisons to Microsoft Office’s classic “Clippy.” Concurrently, a smart display is anticipated by mid-2026, slated to run a new operating system dubbed ‘Charismatic’ that will enable voice or touch control over home applications, music, and web browsing. Furthermore, new AI-powered security cameras are in the pipeline, promising months-long battery life and the ability to automate household tasks such as dimming lights or playing personalized music.
Central to this revitalization effort is a complete overhaul of Siri. Engineers are reportedly rebuilding the voice assistant from the ground up using advanced AI models under the internal codename Linwood. The company is also exploring alternatives, testing Anthropic’s Claude as a backup, internally referred to as Glenwood. This aggressive move into home AI robotics underscores Apple’s urgency to establish a significant foothold in a market where rivals like Google, Amazon, and OpenAI (with its Jony Ive-designed device) are rapidly advancing, especially given that Apple’s much-touted AI-powered Siri improvements have largely remained conceptual.
Beyond Apple’s hardware ambitions, the broader AI landscape continues its rapid evolution, marked by significant adjustments from industry leaders. OpenAI, for instance, recently navigated user dissatisfaction following the launch of its GPT-5 model. CEO Sam Altman addressed the backlash by announcing a series of changes to ChatGPT. Crucially, the popular GPT-4o model has been reinstated in the model picker for all paid users, with Altman assuring that its potential deprecation would come with ample notice.
In response to user feedback, OpenAI has also dramatically increased weekly rate limits for advanced reasoning within GPT-5, jumping from 200 to 3,000 queries. Altman further clarified the new model’s 196,000-token context window. To mitigate frustrations over queries being misrouted at launch, users now have new “Auto,” “Fast,” or “Thinking” options for GPT-5, allowing for greater control over model choice. While acknowledging GPT-5’s technical advancements, Altman highlighted the critical lesson learned: the necessity for “per-user customization and model personality,” hinting at upcoming personality updates for GPT-5. This episode underscored a significant segment of the user base that values a model’s personality and interaction style as much as its raw computational power or benchmark performance.
The intense competition for AI talent also continues to shape the industry. Microsoft, a major player in the AI ecosystem, is reportedly embarking on an aggressive recruiting drive to poach AI researchers from Meta. According to a Business Insider report, Microsoft is leveraging multi-million dollar offers and specialized recruiting teams to attract talent from various Meta labs, excluding its new Superintelligence Labs division. Teams targeted include Reality Labs, GenAI Infra, and Meta AI Research, with the recruitment effort spearheaded by Mustafa Suleyman and former Meta engineer Jay Parikh. To expedite these high-stakes hires, Microsoft has implemented new, streamlined processes for “critical AI talent,” allowing for offers and higher-up approvals within a mere 24 hours. This strategy mirrors Meta’s own aggressive recruitment tactics, though matching Meta’s willingness to invest heavily in top AI talent will be challenging. However, amid reports of cultural issues within Meta’s AI unit, some non-Superintelligence Labs employees may be more receptive to new opportunities.